Shyralis
Shyralis is a half-elven black mage who specializes in interrogation techniques. Once a loyal follower and high-ranking cleric of Mardük working under Zarnagon, Shyralis found herself jobless and powerless when the Godslayer took control of Aison and Xerathas d'Zarnagon arose as its spokesman in the aftermath of the Cataclysm. She's now driven by a bitter desire to see Zarnagon's inexperienced, inept brat of a son thrown from power. She had Marcus Sarillius under her control after brainwashing and torturing him for years but she has recently lost her power over him and has come to re-evaluate what she really wants from life. After some soul-searching, Shyralis is now trying to leave her violent past behind by starting a new life, and she has recently married her longtime companion Izael Korath after finally confessing her feelings for him. Biography Early Years Shyralis was born to an elven mother and a human father in Remon. Her Innate Ability was a rather unusual one; she was born with the fangs and venom of a snake, and her features were an odd mix of elf and snake, with pointed ears, a slightly forked tongue, and green eyes resembling those of a serpent. She spent the first years of her life on a farm, studying magic away from both humans and elves, as her mother felt Shyralis's innate ability would make it hard for her to fit in. Her life was quite uneventful until her father fell ill and died. Her mother, unable to cope with the loneliness of tending the farm by herself, decided to take her child and return to her elven home in Folsworth Woods where they occasionally visited Shyralis's grandmother Helane. Unfortunately, the time in the woods didn't go over too well. The elves saw Shyralis as a freak because of her half-elven heritage and weird look and made the next few years of her life a living hell. She took it for as long as she could... but eventually, she snapped and lashed out with her magic, killing four young elves. She ran away soon after, not even leaving a note behind for her mother or grandmother. Seeing her high potential as a mage, the Clergy of Mardük took her in when she stumbled upon a group of clerics. They cultivated her hatred, and she grew up to become a skilled mage. Shyralis rose in their ranks over the years, eventually becoming a high-ranking cleric serving under Zarnagon who saw potential in her and wished to exploit her hatred for his own ends. Distreyd Era Infiltrating the Alliance Shyralis's time with the Grand Alliance was filled with deception. She was sent to Remon to gather information on the so-called Grand Alliance, and ordered to assassinate any leaders if given the chance. Varalia Earthhaven sent one of her own soldiers, Viirsa Yuriev, with her, and from the first time they encountered the Alliance, their words were filled with lies. Shyralis and Viirsa didn't get along at all, constantly snarking at one another and waiting for a chance to crush the other, just like their superiors felt for each other. After an elaborate plan resulting in the Alliance rescuing the pair from an attacking wolf, the two joined the Alliance posing as merchants. They travelled with the Alliance to the elven capital Sanae, wisely keeping themselves inconspicuous and gaining the trust of their companions. It was in Sanae that Shyralis first encountered fellow cleric Izael Korath, who she set free from his bonds. The two spoke little, but an understanding seemed to form between them...likely because both had similar, sad pasts which they could relate to. During this time she also acquainted herself with King Marcus Sarillius, the optimistic leader of the Alliance. Shyralis kept her true intentions hidden, even aiding the Alliance, until the Battle of Folsworth Woods which sparked the Great War. It was during that battle when she assassinated the dwarven king Arisol, who died before having a chance to alert the Alliance about Shyralis being the traitor. Exhausted by her work, Shyralis was carried to safety and cared for by Izael who wished to pay her back for freeing him earlier. Izael and Shyralis stalked the Alliance's army with hopes of gathering intel and hampering their advance as per Zarnagon's orders, and while they were in Opeth Forest, they came across a strange, glowing jewel. Shyralis touched the jewel out of curiosity and soon realized it was cursed because she turned into a goat. Izael carried her around until he finally discovered a spell to change her back from the spellbook they found in Remonton's library. Shyralis and Izael teamed up with The Shadow during the First Battle of Remonton when they deceived the Alliance's heroes and locked them into one of the libraries of Remonton's Palace of Justice, leaving them to deal with the Shadow. The two quickly escaped the Alliance's wrath after the Shadow was vanquished, and they set out on their own. Shyralis would not be seen or heard from until joining Yousei Kaizoku's group, the Black Hunters, who had been sent to hunt down Axikasha Keiran and her Alliance companions in Aison. However, the hunt ended in failure and led directly to the Second Battle of Myridia during which Zarnagon went missing and the Alliance took over Myridia and the rest of Aison from the Clergy of Mardük. Driven by Hate Shyralis was not seen after the catastrophic battle in Aison but she eventually learned of the Cataclysm which shattered the world and the dreadful Godslayer's subsequent rise to power. She was annoyed when she found out that Zarnagon's young son Xerathas d'Zarnagon had taken over Myridia and had founded the Grey Cult which worshipped the Godslayer. She found herself jobless and powerless as the Clergy of Mardük crumbled in the aftermath of the Cataclysm. Izael had also disappeared in the chaotic aftermath of the Grey Cult's rise to power which seemed to only fuel Shyralis's anger. She became driven by a bitter desire to see Xerathas thrown from power and to become a powerful authority herself no matter how many people she had to crush along the way. Shyralis managed to gathered a small circle of minions and captured Marcus who had fled from Yamato after the Godslayer had viciously ended the Alliance's campaign there. She stayed in the shadows since the Cataclysm, spending years torturing and brainwashing Marcus in a crumbling tower while preparing him to be her pawn as the King of Remon. Godslayer Era The Age of Emptiness In 1016 AE, Shyralis finally decided to act as she deemed the tortured Marcus ready to return and reclaim the throne of Remon while she would wield power through him, her puppet king. The followers she had gained by using Marcus as her tool were sufficient to take power back from the Stewards' Council which was currently ruling Remon in Marcus's stead. After she handed Marcus the blade Dusk back, they and their folloers set out to Remonton where they would put their plans in motion and rally the people behind Marcus, the returned king. Things got complicated as they were approached by one of their scouts while on their way to Remonton. It turned out that a new force, the Proninist Party, had risen in Remon and taken over the former Remonian capital overnight, forcing the Stewards' Council to flee for their lives. Shyralis realized the Party would complicate matters, but she was nevertheless sure she would find a way to install Marcus on the throne and defeat these Proninists. She would let no one stand in the way of her revenge. On Death's Trail A Game of Deception Echoes of War A Crimson Dawn Tears of the Sun The Winds of Wrath Sowing Season Devourer's Reach The Point of No Return Shyralis accompanied the Sarquil refugees and the Alliance representatives to Alent where the Council of Mages let them stay. Marcus decided not to put her in prison and instead kept his distance. Shyralis saw this as yet another sign of weakness, and she was also annoyed that she was unable to get close enough to Marcus to force him back under her power. She remained in the sidelines, drinking her worries away while plotting her revenge. She promised she would find a way to slither back to power and continue her mission to depose Xerathas no matter how long it would take. A Cry in the Dark Shyralis was having a drink in a seedy tavern when Unithien approached her and handed her a letter. Mildly surprised by seeing the white mage who she hadn't spoken to before suddenly pay any attention to her, Shyralis read through the letter. By the time she finished, she was genuinely surprised: the letter was from Izael who explained what had happened in Alent recently and confessed his love for Shyralis. Izael also asked that Shyralis should help Unithien locate Refan whom he had met briefly because he worried that Refan would cause damage and hurt his loved ones in his current demonic form. Not caring one bit for Refan or Unithien but still wanting to honour Izael's request, Shyralis told Unithien she would accompany her but also said that before they left, they should take a non-mage with them in case they needed to use brute force to subdue Refan. The one Shyralis had in mind was the elven archer Rhylian Loras who was one of Ax's lieutenants. Once the elven trio had gathered, they left to search for Refan. During the walk they learned that Unithien was infected with the Blood Fever, and Shyralis found out that Unithien was in fact the daughter of Varalia, the elven officer who she had never particularly liked. They didn't have to search for long when they saw him crashing through the window of Ax's room and fleeing from panicking citizens. Shyralis wasted no time and gave pursuit with Rhylian and Unithien. However, Shyralis also devised a plan to distract the demonic Refan who was acting on pure instinct; she remembered how he had acted in Remonton and Xibalba when he had last revealed his demonic form, and she planned to use that erratic behaviour to her advantage. Noticing that Unithien was drawn to Refan's aura and learning a bit more about Unithien and Refan's brief encounter earlier that day, Shyralis told her companions that they would distract Refan with Unithien while the rest of their team would catch him off-guard. Unithien's makeover into a seductress gained Shyralis's approval; she saw that Unithien might not be useless after all because she had at least some initiative. The trio cornered Refan in an alley only to see that others had gotten to him first. Not only were Nesa Mikoto, his daughter Nyanna Mikoto as well as Kaisa and her pet wolf Liulfr there, but Refan had an ally as well: a hooded demon. While Nesa protected Nyanna, Kaisa and Liulfr and Rhylian kept Refan's accomplice at bay with her arrows, Shyralis focused on Refan but soon realized that his demonic aura was affecting Unithien somehow. Although she was willing to sacrifice Unithien if necessary, Rhylian's words to keep them all alive made her focus on defeating Refan ''and saving Unithien. In the end they won the battle as Shyralis caught Refan off guard and struck him down with her spells. The other demon vanished from the scene and left Refan on his own, and all seemed well...until Unithien, shaken by the chaotic battle, acted all of a sudden and spontaneously confessed her feelings for Nesa as she kissed him before saying tearful farewells. Before Shyralis and Rhylian could figure out what was going on, Unithien used her magic to vanish from their sights. Shyralis saw how Unithien's disappearing act and love confession had confused both Nesa and Rhylian and how much Unithien's words had hurt Rhylian who was Nesa's beloved. She managed to snap Rhylian out of shock and resume her duties as a lieutenant of the Blades of Vigilance who showed up in the scene to tie Refan up. Showing sympathy perhaps for the first time for anyone else apart from Izael, Shyralis tried to comfort Rhylian and addressed for the first time not as an archer but with her first name. Deceiver's Gambit Worried for Izael, Shyralis decided to go meet him now that Refan had been neutralized and put behind bars. She asked Rhylian to accompany her. While on their way to the infirmary, they were intercepted by Refan's wife Skye who had travelled with Shyralis's group to Alent earlier. The woman was distraught and threatened Shyralis, revealing that she had learned how Shyralis had subdued Refan earlier. The two women had a brief verbal spat during which Shyralis taunted Skye's futile belief in Refan while Skye in turn countered by accusing Shyralis of being nothing more than a selfish person who only knew how to manipulate people for her own gain and whose actions had caused nothing but misery. The scene came to a quick end when Rhylian managed to calm Skye down and handed her over to nearby Blades. Shaken by the event and for Skye's harsh words, Shyralis angrily marched into the infirmary where she began her conversation with Izael by scolding him for nearly losing his life in the battle against the demon mage Dantalion which had taken place in Threshold yesterday. However, Izael surprised her by not only explaining his reasonings for facing Dantalion but that he wanted to take his and Shyralis's relationship to a next level. Before Shyralis could react properly to Izael's newest confession, she saw him sliding a ring on her finger and then asking her to marry him while clumsily reciting an old elven marriage vow. An air of silence descended on the room for a moment, and Shyralis was too shocked by this sudden development to answer Izael immediately. Heart of Darkness Shyralis pondered the events of the previous day in her room in the inn. Surprised by Izael's proposal, she had fled from him and had spent considerable time considering what she should do. She wavered and decided to talk to Rhylian, the only person other than Izael who she felt somewhat comfortable with, about her love problems. Much to her surprise, Rhylian was willing to listen to her worries and offered Shyralis words of advice about just admitting her feelings to Izael. The archer was even ready to accompany Shyralis to Izael and witness them exchanging vows, an act of kindness and friendship which prompted Shyralis to spontaeously hug Rhylian. As the two were about to leave the inn and walk to the infirmary where Izael was, they were intercepted by a druid named Virgil Chelms who had travelled to Libaterra all the way from Remon and wanted to share something which he had discovered about the Plague of Undeath. The druid explained that he may have discovered a way to control the bodies of the undead to an extent and perhaps eventually free them from their torment. Virgil suggested that Shyralis, the ambitious mage he knew her as, might benefit from such a power if they worked together, and his words did spark Shyralis's curiosity. They were joined by the dark knight Stylianos Kinley who likewise offered some words on the subject, but Shyralis was annoyed by the knight interrupting the conversation and drove him off. Eventually her urge to meet with Izael became great enough that she left Virgil and headed with Rhylian to the infirmary. It was there that she finally confessed her feelings to Izael, no longer holding herself back. Izael was delighted to hear Shyralis had made the choice to marry him and asked her for one more favour: to accompany him to a ceremony which would legitimize their marriage under Remonian law. A ceremony which would be held by the King of Remon himself, Marcus Sarillius. The elven trio found the king under an oak in a nearby park, accompanied by the king's bodyguard Swenson Von Strupenguard and the bard Leon Alcibiates. Although the reunion of Marcus and Shyralis was tense as both still remembered the suffering Shyralis had made Marcus go through, the king surprised Shyralis by forgiving her to some extent while explaining that the only way Shyralis would earn a full pardon from her past crimes was to dedicate the rest of her life for selfless actions and redeem herself in the eyes of others. When Marcus saw that Shyralis was determined enough to be married to Izael and truly loved the cleric, he decided to marry them, showing his growth as a person. Izael and Shyralis were officially married under the oak tree with Marcus acting as their priest under the guiding light of Hephaestus and Leon providing the wedding music. The two half-elves had finally found the companionship they'd been searching for through their lives, and now they'd face the future stronger than ever...together. Two weeks passed since the wedding, and the King and Queen's Ball was held in honour of Kings Marcus and Khasra III as well as Sultan Khalid and Sultana Ax. Izael and Shyralis attended the ball as part of their honeymoon, although Izael lamented that he couldn't have taken his wife to another place due to the war raging in the Libaterran countryside. It was during this conversation that Shyralis revealed that the reason she didn't want to dance was because she didn't know how to do so. Much to her surprise Izael was acting rather lustful in her presence, as if she was possessed by some force. It was then that Rain approached and asked for her and Izael's help because she believed something was wrong in the ball and the lustful reactions from people were caused by dark magic. Before Shyralis could reply, Izael drove the girl off rudely and turned back to flirting with Shyralis. Appearance Shyralis is slender and just under 5', and has long, dark hair and vivid green, almost snake-like eyes. She dresses for ease of movement, not protection, and usually wears a long-sleeved green dress and boots under her cleric's robes. As you might guess from her stature, she has high agility but almost no physical strength. Personality and Traits Proud, ruthless, calculating, self-disciplined and driven by the need for revenge. She doesn't believe in conversing unless necessary, though every once in a while her dark sense of humor shows through. Because of bad memories from her childhood, she doesn't like elves much, despite being of elven descent, and the only family member she has fond memories of is her grandmother, Helane. Occasionally a softer, more vulnerable side of Shyralis is seen, though this hasn't happened often. The only exceptions seem to be when she's drunk enough although after her marriage with Izael Korath she has softened up a bit and acts more kindly when she's around him and Rhylian Loras. She tends to bicker and trade insults with Ax and Rhylian every once in a while and seems to enjoy this. Powers and Abilities Shyralis is quite a skilled black mage, and since the loss of her Innate Ability, has trained even harder to make up the difference. She focuses more on perfecting small, concentrated attacks and less on making big booms. She has also spent a lot of time researching ways to inflict pain without causing harm to the body. Making use of her magical abilities, as well as her background as a cleric of Mardük, she is a master of interrogation. Relationships Axikasha Keiran Ax and Shyralis seem to have an odd love/hate relationship, and often bicker or insult each other, which occasionally escalates into a slapping contest. Shyralis doesn't seem to mind all that much, though, and seems to have a certain grudging respect for the female warrior even though both of them can't forget that they were on opposite sides during the Great War. Izael Korath Izael and Shyralis seem to have a bond of understanding and empathy, as they were both viewed as "freaks" by the elves due to their innate abilities, and neither ever really fit in anywhere. Though there were hints of romance in their relationship over ten years ago, it lay dormant for years as the two lived separate lives. Recently, they seem to have developed a bond again, and Shyralis is still confused about Izael's kiss. However, she slowly warmed up to him now that they were spending more time together. After near-death events in Alent when facing demons in separate battles, Shyralis finally learned that Izael wished to marry her and, after momentary hesitation, she eventually found herself answering his feelings. This realization led to Shyralis confessing her feelings to Izael at long last, which culminated in their marriage. Kareth d'Zarnagon It remains unclear what exactly Shyralis's true feelings about Zarnagon were. Either way he saw her as a useful pawn, and she followed his orders to the letter. When Zarnagon disappeared and Xerathas rose to power, it infuriated Shyralis enough to plot Xerathas's downfall. However, when the Shadow tried to plead Shyralis to work for him by saying that Zarnagon had sent him, Shyralis coldly said that she didn't serve Zarnagon anymore. Whether her words were true and she had grown independent or she lied to the Shadow remains unclear. Marcus Sarillius Once Shyralis got Marcus under her power, she never intended to let go. She managed to turn him into an obedient pawn and punished him harshly if he objected to her plans. However, when Marcus broke free of her, she wasn't pleased and promised to find Marcus so that she could turn him into her pawn yet again. Marcus is afraid of Shyralis, still occasionally thinking that she holds power over him, but he's matured and become more confident since growing out of her shadow to the point that when he saw that Shyralis did genuinely care for Izael, he decided to forgive her and acted as a priest to marry her and Izael although he still reminded Shyralis that she would have to devote her life to helping people for the rest of her life to atone for her past crimes. Rhylian Loras After spending some time with Rhylian in Alent, Shyralis eventually grew fond of her and began considering her a friend. Although the two had a rocky start, they developed a budding friendship which finally bloomed in earnest when Rhylian showed her support to Shyralis and even accompanied her to Izael and the wedding. Since then Rhylian has become one of the few people Shyralis can genuinely call a friend. Viirsa Yuriev Viirsa and Shyralis, quite frankly, hated each other. They were forced to work together by Varalia and Zarnagon, and the only thing that kept them cooperating was their respect for their superiors. On several occasions, Shyralis came up with vague plots to kill Viirsa, though nothing ever came of these plans. Xerathas d'Zarnagon Shyralis despises Xerathas with the bottom of her heart and wants to dethrone him. Xerathas is unaware of Shyralis's seething hatred and doesn't even consider her a serious enough threat. After her marriage to Izael, however, Shyralis seems to have forgotten her desire to overthrow Xerathas although it's unclear if the dark feelings still dwell in her heart regarding the subject matter. See also *Axikasha Keiran *Izael Korath *Marcus Sarillius *Rhylian Loras *Viirsa Yuriev Category:Characters Category:Clergy of Mardük Category:Grand Alliance Category:Mixed Ancestry Category:Remon Category:Third Age